Fridge freezer 4 months out of guarantee

Last updated on April 19th, 2017

Here is an example of an appliance out of guarantee and deemed unrepairable. I received a question from someone who had bought a Zanussi fridge freezer 14 months previously. It was now 2 months out of guarantee. It had broken down. The engineer had advised that the fault was due to an internal gas leak. It was unrepairable. The customer asked me what her rights are. She had paid £630 for the fridge freezer.

Note that although this specific question relates to a fridge freezer, the situation should be relevant to any white goods appliance.

Just out of guarantee and unrepairable

The manufacturer’s only obligation is to carry out repairs under their guarantee period, which has now expired. If it was repairable and they were quoting for an expensive repair it might bring up other consumer rights issues (out of guarantee doesn’t always mean you should pay). But as the appliance is not repairable they are washing their hands of it. You would think that as they made the appliance and you are one of their customers they would offer to replace it themselves. They commonly don’t. As far as they are concerned you didn’t buy it from them. They didn’t get your money (although they obviously do indirectly) so it’s nothing to do with them. They will usually tell you to go back to the retailer. This is of course technically correct (Is manufacturer or retailer responsible for faulty appliances?)

Retailer is responsible

I advised that they should contact the retailer and request a replacement under the sale of goods act. This one hasn’t lasted a reasonable time (or it was not fit for purpose due to it’s short lifespan). Under the sale of goods act if an appliance cannot be repaired – and it has not lasted a reasonable time – then the retailer is responsible. Ironically the first thing they are likely to do is ask the manufacturer for credit to replace it. If the manufacturer refuses to give them credit a retailer will often try to limit their costs by refusing to replace something. They claim there’s nothing they can do because it’s out of guarantee. This leaves the consumer with both retailer and manufacturer claiming there’s nothing they can do. If a consumer has a valid right to compensation or a replacement under the sale of goods act then they are wrong to do that. (Out of guarantee – even by a long time doesn’t always mean you should pay)

Do you automatically get a brand new appliance if the old can’t be repaired?

It will depend on the age of the appliance. Theoretically, a retailer can try to reduce their costs by asking the customer to pay a contribution. The logic is that you have already enjoyed a certain percentage of an expected lifespan so shouldn’t be entitled to a complete replacement free of charge. This does make logical sense, but whether or not they would try this is dependent on the circumstances and the retailer. Hopefully most retailers just can’t be bothered with the potential complexities involved, and certainly in this case where the appliance is only 14 months old they should hopefully just swap it for a new one. It may be quite different though if an appliance is not so close the guarantee expiry date.

Here’s how it would work

It’s complicated. In order to ask for a contribution towards the cost they need to work out what percentage of life you’ve already enjoyed. They would need to say how long the appliance would be expected to last on average. These figures aren’t easy to know or agree upon. Say for example they claim a fridge freezer would normally last 10 years (which is 120 months), they could say you’ve enjoyed 14 of those months which equates to just over 10%.

Using that logic they could ask a customer to contribute 10%. I’m not aware how often – if ever- this happens. To be fair it’s hard to argue with the logic as long as they use fair expected lifespans to calculate. As I said though it seems unlikely many retailers would bother when an appliance is only a few months out of it’s guarantee and in this case, further correspondence from the consumer confirmed that the retailer did exchange the fridge freezer without any quibble.

What if the appliance was older and couldn’t be repaired?

If an appliance has been deemed unrepairable by the manufacturer but it is further out of the guarantee period then things may be quite different. If an appliance is a year out of guarantee – or maybe even 4 or 5 years out of guarantee then you may still have rights under the sale of goods act. There’s usually little point in complaining to the manufacturer although it has been known for them to accommodate customers out of goodwill (and clearly this makes sense). However, it is the retailer who has the liability under the sale of goods act.

What if the appliance is out of guarantee and repairable – but it is going to be expensive?

This is far more common, and much more complex. If an appliance is only days or possibly a week or so out of guarantee then you would hope that out of good will the manufacturer would offer to repair it free of charge. But they aren’t obliged to, and often won’t. If this is the case you need to remember your rights under the sale of goods act are against the retailer who sold it to you. You may still be entitled to a free repair depending upon the circumstances.

You would need to contact the retailer and you would need to show that your appliance has not lasted a reasonable time, has not been fit for purpose, or it had an inherent fault at the time of sale. Whether or not you have any justification in such a claim will depend on all of the circumstances – how much you paid, how long you’ve had it, whether it has been nothing but trouble or previously trouble-free, how you’ve looked after it, and how much it has been used. Some of the elements in this calculation are subjective and not clear-cut. This is why you may have to seek consumer advice from someone like Which? (Which? £1 offer – what’s the catch?) and why sometimes a small claims court judge may have to decide.

Comments: (Oldest first)

My parents bought a brand new Beko WMB 61631W washing machine and to cut to the chase they have insurance but in the two and half years they have owned this it has been repaired (through their insurance) 6 times that includes the whole drum being replaced! Now today after getting the brushes replaced last week the machine was making a whirring noise that the engineer said would ”wear off” but now, today 3 days later the whirring noise got louder and louder then a smell of burning and it conked out tripping all the electricity in the house!!! When does one repair too many become unacceptable? I mean they are now afraid to use the machine even if it is fixed yet again. Should they not be just replacing it with a new machine? Do they have say with the insurance company to force their hand to have the machine replaced for a new one? Thank you.

Hello Tom. When the engineer said that the noise would wear off he was assuming that the noise was caused by the new carbon brushes. When new brushes are fitted the motor is initially noisier than before until the brushes bed in. However, the smell of burning and tripping the electricity sounds very much like the main motor has now failed. The amount of repairs you have had in such a short time is arguably unacceptable. However, whether you have a fair claim or not is dependent on how much it has been used.

Beko are one of the cheapest washing machines you can buy. To be totally honest with you budget washing machines are only really fit for washing for one or 2 people. If the washing machine is washing for 4 or 5 people then in all honesty it wouldn’t be too surprising that for it to keep breaking down. Most budget washing machines would be completely worn out after 2 or 3 years washing for a large family and these days. Believe it or not, if washing for 4 or 5 people manufacturers actually class this as virtually commercial washing. It is totally ludicrous, especially being as this is not communicated to consumers buying appliances.

Having said all that, if the washing machine has had relatively light use, washing for only one or 2 people then you might have a case. If you need a washing machine that can cope with washing every day or virtually every day you need to look at something like a Miele, but of course they start at over £600.

Hi my parents bought a Zanussi tall fridge from Currys’s in July 2016 & 2 weeks ago it stopped working so they paid for a repair agent from currys’s to look at it & the gas is faulty so unrepairable, so they went back to currys to get it replaced as it wasn’t very old to be told it was out of guarantee & they would have to buy another one, so not only did they pay £130 plus for the repair they have had to pay out £399 for a new fridge. I think currys are in the wrong & am not happy with the way they have been treated.

Retailers rely on people being ignorant of their rights, or being unwilling to get into a stressful fight about it. A white goods refrigeration appliance should surely last longer than around seventeen months. The retailer should at least have offered you a healthy discount off a new one. Unfortunately you have a more complicated case because you also paid for repair.

When you say “repair” – do you mean that Zanussi charged you £130 just to tell you they couldn’t repair it? If I were you I would seek professional consumer advice. Either from a government consumer website, or from someone like Which? All Which? members are eligible for personal consumer advice and they often even fight your case for you. You could become a member for just £1 by following this link Why subscribe to Which?. You may very well find it valuable to be a permanent member after the trial period.

Essentially when the fridge was beyond economical repair at not even 18 months old I would say has not lasted a reasonable time under the terms of the sale of goods act. Under the sale of goods act a retailer is entitled to reduce any compensation amount to allow for the fact that you have already enjoyed a certain amount of use from the appliance. To me I would expect at least 70% off of a new one. A fridge should last 7 to 10 years.

Hello Maria. The only people you can try and get compensation from are Currys. They sold you and appliance which has lasted a woefully inadequate amount of time and cannot be repaired. They are responsible under the sale of goods act. Unfortunately most of the retailers refused to do anything. There is a chance that if you quote them the sale of goods act and tell them you have been sold an appliance that has not lasted a reasonable amount of time and was therefore not fit for purpose they may offer you some compensation. If not, the only option you have is to threaten to take them to the small claims court. Get in touch with a consumer group like Citizens Advice, or if you become a Which? member get in touch with Which? In cases like this they are usually more than happy to help.

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